Horseshoe stud

ABSTRACT

A horseshoe stud with a head and a shaft having a plurality of ribs formed thereon and extending at least partially circumferentially around the shaft. Preferably, the ribs have a frustro-conical shape. The stud according to the present invention can be simply installed in a stud hole by using a punch like device, the stud is installed in a stud hole located on the punch and an impact is given by way of an impacting tool so as to drive said stud into a predrilled hole made into a shoe. This installation is much easier to carry out compared to the installation of prior art drive-in studs having smooth shafts.

This application claims priority based on provisional application 60/780,844 filed Mar. 10, 2007

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of horseshoes. More particularly, it relates to a horseshoe stud.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In order to obtain better traction on various surfaces, and to reduce footing risks to a horse, studs are sometimes installed on horseshoes worn by horses. Some horses use screw-in studs that go into standard threaded holes in the horseshoe created by the farrier. The farrier taps the desired number of holes depending on the activity the horse is performing. A down side is maintenance of the holes. Furthermore, screwing the studs in and out is a hassle. It is recommended to never leave these studs in, as the screw-in studs elevate the foot too much for permanent wear, altering balance and stressing the heel bulbs.

In order to counter the above-described problems associated with the use of screw-in studs, farriers have developed the drive-in stud. Drive-in studs are typically smaller than screw-ins and designed to be left in place, while having heads treated for extra traction. Drive-in studs are therefore typically made out of steel with a hardened body and welded tungsten carbide insert. This type of stud is more easy to apply. A hole is drilled in the shoe with a drill bit. The shoe is placed on an anvil, ground side up. The stud is placed on top of the hole and driven down with a softened hammer or an old hammer to avoid scarring the face of the hammer. A gap is left between the stud head and the shoe to prevent the stud from coming loose. The shoe is then nailed on the hoof as done normally. The stud can be reused by tapping it loose and applying it again. This stud is designed to be used on hard surfaces or when the demand for grip is less. The drive-in stud design prevents injuries from kicking and stepping and can normally be used permanently.

These traction devices may also be needed in warmer months if the horse or mule is worked on pavement, rocks, mud, or for logging in the woods where the forest floor is slippery. As when working on ice or packed snow, the horse must have sound footing so it won't slip and slide away.

The above-mentioned types of traction devices all have good and bad points and in order to be used, require different skills and equipment.

Unfortunately, as shown in FIG. 1, prior art drive-in studs have smooth shafts that are difficult to install due to tight tolerances with the stud holes in which they must be installed.

PRIOR ART CAPABILITY AND MOTIVATIONS, AS HELPING TO SHOW PATENTABILITY HERE

Even in hindsight consideration of the present invention to determine its inventive and novel nature, it is not only conceded but emphasized that the prior art had many details usable in this invention, but only if the prior art had had the guidance of the present invention, details of both capability and motivation.

That is, it is emphasized that the prior art had/or knew several particulars which individually and accumulatively show the non-obviousness of this combination invention. E.g.,

-   -   a) The cost of the materials are relatively low and do not have         a profound impact on price to the point of offsetting the         benefits of this novel product;     -   b) The nature of an invention as being a “novel combination”, in         spite of existence of details separately, is especially         significant here where the novelty is of the plurality of         concepts, i.e., the use of frustro-conical ribs;     -   c) The addition of providing an easy to securedly and         permanently install a horseshoe stud;     -   d) The matter of particular cost-factors, in a detailed form         which would surely convey the realization of the huge costs         involved in manufactring such a device;     -   e) The cost-factors involved in the maintenance repair of a         horseshoe stud designed to be durable and offer a long lasting         installation on a horseshoe;     -   f) The ease of tooling for the present invention has surely         given manufacturers ample incentive to have made modifications         for commercial competitiveness in a competitive industry, if the         concepts had been obvious;     -   g) The prior art has always had sufficient skill to make many         types of horseshoe studs, more than ample skill to have achieved         the present invention, but only if the concepts and their         combinations had been conceived;     -   h) Substantially all of the operational characteristics and         advantages of details of the present invention, when considered         separately from one another and when considered separately from         the present invention's details and accomplishment of the         details, are within the skill of persons of various arts, but         only when considered away from the integrated and novel         combination of concepts which by their cooperative combination         achieve this advantageous invention;     -   i) The details of the present invention, when considered solely         from the standpoint of construction, are exceedingly simple,         basically a cylindrical piece having frustro-conical ribs and a         domed head and the matter of simplicity of construction has long         been recognized as indicative of inventive creativity;     -   j) Similarly, and a long-recognized indication of inventiveness         of a novel combination, is the realistic principle that a person         of ordinary skill in the art, as illustrated with respect to the         claimed combination as differing in the stated respects from the         prior art both as to construction and concept, is presumed to be         one who thinks along the line of conventional wisdom in the art         and is not one who undertakes to innovate; and     -   k) The predictable benefits from a novel product and         installation method, having the features of this invention would         seem sufficiently high that others would have been working on         this type of product, but only if the concepts which it presents         had been conceived.

Accordingly, although the prior art has had capability and motivation, amply sufficient to presumably give incentive to the development a product and installation method, according to the present invention, the fact remains that this invention awaited the creativity and inventive discovery of the present inventor. In spite of ample motivation, the prior art did not suggest this invention.

PRIOR ART AS PARTICULAR INSTANCES OF FAILURE TO PROVIDE THIS NOVEL PRODUCT AND INSTALLATION METHOD

In view of the general economic advantages of the present invention as an improved embodiment of the prior art, it may be difficult to realize that the prior art has not conceived of the combination purpose and achievement of the present invention, even though the need for it is a known requested commodity for equestrians to require that their horse be able to perform even when the ground is muddy, or softened and made slippery by rain, sleet or snow. Surely the need for a reliable easy to securedly install horseshoe stud has been known for decades and the technology to achieve such results has been known for years and that the various combination provided in this invention would have been desired and attempted long ago, especially since that specialized market is a very profitable niche market where profit margins can be quite high on the sale of such equipment, but only if its factors and combination-nature had been obvious.

Other considerations, as herein mentioned, when realistically evaluated show the inventive nature of the present invention, a change in concept which the prior patent and other prior art did not achieve.

SUMMARY OF THE PRIOR ART'S LACK OF SUGGESTIONS OF THE CONCEPTS OF THE INVENTION'S COMBINATION

And the existence of such prior art knowledge and related ideas embodying such various features is not only conceded, it is emphasized; for as to the novelty here of the combination, of the invention as considered as a whole, a contrast to the prior art helps also to remind of needed improvement, and the advantages and the inventive significance of the present concepts. Thus, as shown herein as a contrast to all the prior art, the inventive significance of the present concepts as a combination is emphasized, and the nature of the concepts and their results can perhaps be easier seen as an invention.

Although varieties of prior art are conceded, and ample motivation is shown, and full capability in the prior art is conceded, no prior art shows or suggests details of the overall combination of the present invention, as is the proper and accepted way of considering the inventiveness nature of the concepts.

That is, although the prior art may show an approach to the overall invention, it is determinatively significant that none of the prior art shows the novel and advantageous concepts in combination, which provides the merits of this invention, even though certain details are shown separately from this accomplishment as a combination.

And the prior art's lack of an invention of a strong, durable horseshoe stud which does not dislodge from the horseshoe after installation and other advantages of the present invention, which are goals only approached by the prior art, must be recognized as being a long-felt need now fulfilled.

Accordingly, the various concepts and components are conceded and emphasized to have been widely known in the prior art as to various installations; nevertheless, the prior art not having had the particular combination of concepts and details as here presented and shown in novel combination different from the prior art and its suggestions, even only a fair amount of realistic humility, to avoid consideration of this invention improperly by hindsight, requires the concepts and achievements here to be realistically viewed as a novel combination, inventive in nature. And especially is this a realistic consideration when viewed from the position of a person of ordinary skill in this art at the time of this invention, and without trying to reconstruct this invention from the prior art without use of hindsight toward particulars not suggested by the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known devices now present in the prior art, the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide the object and advantage of providing for an improved drive-in stud which is much easier to install on a horseshoe.

To attain these ends, the present invention generally comprises a stud with a head and a shaft having a plurality of ribs formed thereon and extending at least partially circumferentially around the shaft. Preferably, the ribs have a frustro-conical shape.

The stud according to the present invention can be simply installed in a stud hole by using a punch like device, the stud is installed in a stud hole located on the punch and an impact is given by way of an impacting tool so as to drive said stud into a predrilled hole made into a shoe. This installation is much easier to carry out compared to the installation of prior art drive-in studs having smooth shafts.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.

These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter which contains illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 Side elevations of two examples of studs of the prior art.

FIG. 2 Front view of a stud of the present invention.

FIG. 3 Side view of a stud of the present invention.

FIG. 4 Side view illustrating installation of a horseshoe stud into a horseshoe.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A horseshoe stud (10) comprises a head (12) and a shaft (14) having a plurality of ribs (16) formed thereon and extending at least partially circumferentially around the shaft (14).

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the ribs (16) have a frustro-conical shape.

In other embodiments of the present invention, the head (12) of the stud (10) may be replaced by other head designs that are known to the person versed in the art. Such heads can vary depending on the use of the stud and the surface on which it would be used.

The ribbed shaft (14) design helps secure the stud (10) into the shoe (18) while facilitating its installation. The ribs (16) engage the contact surface of the hole (20) in the shoe (18) to hold the stud (10) therein.

By using a punch like device (22), the stud (10) is installed in a stud hole (24) located on the like device (22) and an impact is given by way of an impacting tool such as a hammer so as to drive the stud (10) into the predrilled hole (20) made into the shoe (18).

As to a further discussion of the manner of usage and operation of the present invention, the same should be apparent from the above description. Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention. 

1. A horseshoe stud comprising: a head and a shaft; said shaft having a plurality of ribs formed thereon and extending at least partially circumferentially around said shaft.
 2. A horseshoe stud as in claim 1 wherein: said ribs having a frustro-conical shape.
 3. A horseshoe stud as in claim 1 having the following method of installation: By using a punch like device, the stud is installed in a stud hole located on the punch and an impact is given by way of an impacting tool so as to drive said stud into a predrilled hole made into a shoe. 